Bike Riding In and Around Our Beautiful Mountain Towns

Biking in Telluride

Family Bike Adventure in Crested Butte

Penelope Gleason from Bootdoctors in Telluride

The hills are alive with the sound of cyclists clicking their way over all kinds of bike trails from single track to old railroad grades to paved bike paths to smooth and bumpy swaths cut through our forests for your recreational pleasure. Our towns and valleys are popping with cyclists clad in brightly-colored garb, too. Whether you’re looking for a scenic ride along one of our rushing rivers or interested in snagging a momentous climb or a descent of World-Cup order, Colorado’s mountain towns offer some of the best bike riding options in the United States. Young or old, skilled or amateur, mountain biker or road rider, there’s something for everyone set within some of the best drop-dead gorgeous scenery in the world.

Below is a rundown of a few of Colorado’s major mountain destinations and some of the cycling options they offer. Read them over, make some enquiries and/or reservations, then enjoy the ride. Most of the mud has dried up and the wildflowers are beginning to bloom, so there’s no better time to freewheel it through and around our mountain towns.

Family Bike Touring in Telluride

Bike Touring with Bootdoctors

Mountain Bike Riding in T-ride

Telluride

Ahhhh, Telluride. We all love your free gondola, especially in the summer when we can hook our mountain bikes up to your cabins and access your fifteen trails in and around Telluride Mountain Village and your Bike Park, all of which are free as well. Within the Bike Park on the ski mountain, intermediate and advanced expert riders can navigate over a half dozen trails, varying in difficulty from blue to super narrow, 12”-inch-wide, double black diamonds–yeehaw! And in case you’re already thinking this story isn’t for you, know that you can do a nice, calm pedal along Telluride’s beautiful Valley Floor with your family, little ones included.

Bike Work

Bike Shopping at Bootdoctors

More Goods to Drool Over

The Bootdoctors Team of Guides on a Spring Training Ride

The Activities Desk at Telluride Ski Resort also arranges bike rentals and tours for novice to advanced level mountain bikers. All of these tours are conducted through Bootdoctors, a premiere address for cycling enthusiasts of all kinds. In addition to bike rentals and retail spaces chockfull of all kinds of fine quality bikes, cycling accessories and fashions, they offer guided half- and full-day biking adventures tailored to the riders’ skills and fitness levels. There’s nothing like discovering the fun and freedom of riding on some of the most picturesque trails in the world–the sort of places the locals love and know well. With Bootdoctors, that’s what you can expect along with the expertise and camaraderie offered by an avid cycling guide from the hood.

The Friendly Folks at Four Mountain Sports in Aspen

Me Picking Out a Bike in Aspen

Their Lineup

Aspen

Stop into Four Mountain Sports in Aspen and/or Snowmass to pick up the Aspen Road Cycling Map. I count a total of fourteen suggested rides on this map varying in difficulty from beginner to advanced (single and double black diamond classification). Simple and easy to follow, this map also outlines the amount of distance involved and approximate time required to complete each ride. None of these rides are on the ski mountain. In Snowmass, however, you can take the Elk Camp Gondola up and ride down any number of trails. Rent your bike from Four Mountain Sports as well, even if you’re just looking for a cruiser to pedal around town.

Cruising Around Aspen

Cross Country Biking Aspen

Serious Mountain Biking in Aspen Snowmass

Aspen/Snowmass also offers biking clinics, camps and adventures where you can improve your skills and have fun with others. It’s practically a must in this town, since Aspen is becoming increasingly known as the cycling capital of the United States. Road riding is king here, too. It’s no wonder the USA Pro Challenge makes Aspen an important stage in this internationally-acclaimed bike race. (Read The Thrill of a Bike Race and Bike Race Spectating, Colorado Touring, Book Promoting, Travel Adventures Galore Oh My to find out why.)

Pedal Power in Steamboat Springs

Charging it Through the Steamboat Bike Park

Steamboat Springs

Along with some of the most recently cut downhill bike trails in Colorado, Steamboat Springs rocks a Bike Park that can challenge even the most skilled riders. Good news is they offer a variety of bike passes and lift tickets for kids and adults that make it easy to take in a good amount of riding no matter how long you stay in this incredibly scenic area. Everything is centrally located, too, so you can pick up your ticket and anything else you might need for your bike adventure right at the base of the mountain at Steamboat Bike Shop. Located on the main floor of the beautiful Sheraton Steamboat Resort–a great place to make your base–this full-service retailer also handles bike rentals for the whole family. And as much as the cycling can be gnarly in Steamboat, there are also sweet rides for cyclists of varying skill levels. Just ask the folks here and you’ll find them to be more than willing to point you in the right direction.

Steamboat Springs: Now that’s a Bike Park

Or, consider taking lessons or a clinic to hone your mountain bike skills while having fun with the pros. From Bike Park 101 to Captain of the ‘Boat Race Training, there’s something for guys and gals, beginning at age eight and up. Woo-hoo!

Oh Be Joyful Trail Crested Butte

Crested Butte

OK, Crested Butte also ranks as the epicenter of cycling in the United States, especially when it comes to singletrack, which you find in great, unbridled abundance here. I’ve also never seen so many bikes in one town in my life. It is clearly the mode of transportation of choice as well as the preferred mode of recreation, at least in the summer when the snow gives way to masses of brightly-colored wildflowers that dot the hillsides and mountaintops like no where else in Colorado.

Springing Out from the Crested Butte Base Village

Evolution Bike Park in Crested Butte

Crested Butte Mountain Resort offers bike rentals, lessons and clinics for riders of varying ability levels, ages and pocketbooks. Sure, you can set out on your own from the CBMR’s base village but unless you’re riding with a local, I strongly consider laying down some money to discover the primo cycling in and around this rugged mountain destination. Here, too, you can either shred it in their Evolution Bike Park or do a chill Twilight Ride that might be a nice way to round out your day in CB.

For more on the bike life in Crested Butte, read The Bike Culture of Crested Butte.

Know that all of the above ski resort websites offer lodging, dining and entertainment options as well. They are indeed excellent resources for summer fun in our glorious mountain towns.

Thank you to Telluride Ski Resort, Frederick Marmsater, Bootdoctors, Aspen/Snowmass and Crested Butte Mountain Resort for the images in this post.

Colorado Wildflowers